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Virtual Tours-do you or don't you?

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Peninsula at New Town

Sellers have wondered whether too many photos or a virtual tour give the buyer a reason not to come see the house. I say yes it does. The buyer who does not like your home in pictures, also won't like it in person and will have wasted several people's time. But the person who does like it, will be more likely to make an appointment.

Giving buyers a good idea what to expect saves the buyer time, saves their agent time, saves the seller time by not leaving the house 12 times a day so buyers can stalk through your house and say they hate wallpaper, or wanted a well lit family room only to find a cave. If you think not showing them the interstate running through your back yard in a picture will somehow be overlooked when they see it in person, don't get your hopes up!

Every large purchase most people make today, whether a new washing machine, a table saw or a new camera, starts with research on the internet. So why should the largest purchase (or sale) you make be any different!

Show All Comments Sort:
Barbara Carter
Century 21 Alliance Realty Group - Highland, NY
Serving Your Real Estate Needs in the Hudson Valle

Hi Jim

I have never heard that before- I would point out that the wider audience the tour provides is a really good thing. All my sellers love it.

Apr 16, 2008 11:06 PM
Laura Giannotta
Keller Williams Realty - Atlantic Shore - Little Egg Harbor, NJ
Your Realtor Down the Shore!
I'm working with some people who live a few hours away.  They won't even look at a listing without a tour, even when I tell them they don't know what they're missing! 
Apr 16, 2008 11:08 PM
Chip Jefferson
Advanced Building LLC - Lexington, SC
Pictures is worth a 1000 words. I agree I think its a time and effort saver.
Apr 16, 2008 11:11 PM
Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros
In our market if you do not have the pictures the buyers will not come. Good or bad is another story
Apr 16, 2008 11:37 PM
HomeScenes.com Virtual Tours...
HomeScenes.com ® - Atlanta, GA
Photography & Advertising Your Way!

Dear Jim:

After reading the comments posted above let's clarify the phrase "virtual tour"... this phrase was originally coined by a company in the late 1990's called IPIX. They originally had a camcorder mounted on top of a small motor that would rotate the camera 360 degrees. They would process this film strip in to a moving image panorama. The new technology was sold to all the member brokers and agents of the NAR. It was new, exciting and for the most part affordable. Agents and brokers lined up to order this new way of displaying their listings on the Internet.

Today virtual tours have expanded to still image slide show tours, stiched panorama tours and video tours. The true meaning of "virtual tour" is any visual method an interested party can view a product for sale on the Internet. This works for many industries like... cars, planes, boats, hotels, clothing, jewelry and real estate.

This era of virtual tours has allowed people from all over the world to buy products all over the world without actually having to be there in person. 

Having said all of the above any virtual tour of real estate will help most buyers make an informed decision IF the virtual tour images are of a professional quaility. Too many agents negatively affect their own listings for sale by posting poor quality images or not enough images. 

It has been our experience that more often high quality and high quanity of images help more homes sell closer to the asking price.

HomeScenes.com Virtual Tours - Helping You List & Sell More Homes!

Click to View HS Virtual Tour:   http://homescenes.com/_pgm/hs_TourMain.cfm?MLSID=3635406&ShowLogo=N

Apr 17, 2008 03:54 PM
Jim Mellen
RE/MAX Peninsula at New Town - Williamsburg, VA
Associate Broker - GRI - ABR - e-Pro

Thanks, I appreciate the education and couldn't agree more. The quality of pictures is the best benefit to doing any kind of "pictorial" of the home. I have seen good pictures of bad homes and I have seen bad pictures of good homes.  Most agents do not have the time, desire or knowledge to take good photos and I'd wager that most agents do not show their sellers how the house looks online and what first impressions are being made.

 

Apr 18, 2008 12:51 AM
Robin Rogers
Robin Rogers, Silverbridge Realty, San Antonio, Texas - San Antonio, TX
CRS, TRC, MRP - Real Estate Investment Adviser

Buyers want to see lots of photos. I don't do video tours, but I do Real Estate Shows and take lots of good-quality photos of my listings.

May 21, 2010 02:20 AM